Antique W. Watson & Sons Ltd Brass Edinburgh Stand-H Microscope c1898, Cased

This listing is for an early example of an antique Edinburgh Student's Stand-H model microscope in brass by W. Watson & Sons Limited of London.

It dates from around 1898 based on the sequential Watson production number of 4535, which is engraved onto the frame, just above the rear tripod foot. It's an Edinburgh-H model - these were produced between 1887 and around 1945; its long production run giving us a firm clue regarding just how good this model of microscope was in its day. The Watson Edinburgh stand was originally developed by Watson in collaboration with a professor and lecturer in bateriology at the Ubniversity of Edinburgh. This Edinburgh H is essentially. An excellent piece of British optical engineering showing its quality from every component, based on good materials, solid construction, great design and skilled workmanship with plenty of hand-finishing carried out in this period.

Have a detailed look at the quality of the components, even the brass screws and other furniture really do scream top quality from every component. This is therefore a sturdy, quality, well-made antique microscope in unbelievably good original condition, fully working and all moving parts seem to be free from wear. It really is quite a spectacular visual delight for the eyes when it catches the autumn sun. It must have been in a private collection for most of its life to remain in such good museum-quality order.

Turning to the technical details, the coarse focus is via rack and pinion which has a good smooth action, with fine focus achieved via a separate thumb-wheel located at the rear of the upper frame which operates an internal lever system and also works nice and smoothly. 1/12th inch Versalic oil immersion in brass All objctives are the correct Watson lenses for this model and all have their correct period brass canisters with good exterior lacquer finish. Overall, the range of magnification available with this Watson therefore ranges from about 60x to a perfectly respectable 800x when using oil immersion techniques. The microscope's mechanical stage is an original Watson item in brass with a sliding specimen clip system within an integral dovetail, that's perfect for holding slides during inclined viewing.

The freely running x/y controls also offering fine control of specimen positioning, which is a real advantage for higher magnification work. Turning to the sub-stage, we have a Watson Abbe-style condenser on a height adjustable rack and pinion mount which swings out to allow changing condenser type, carrying out maintenance or just for microscopy techniques that don't require using a condenser. The condenser assembly also has a working iris to control lighting levels.

There's a swing-out holder fitted, allowing coloured, opaque or dark-field filters to be inserted. Lighting is via a plano-concave mirror which is in very good condition on its adjustable brass support arm and gimbal set-up with period silvering that's near perfect to both sides.

All controls operate smoothly including coarse focus, fine-focus, eyepiece draw-tube, condenser and plano-concave mirror. The instrument has been given a light lubrication so all controls operate smoothly with the existing Watson hardware, thereby preserving its originality and collector appeal. This is a great visual and working example of Watson's classic Edinburgh Stand-H model in highly original condition with a comprehensive specification, good optics and it's essentially in collectable condition with every part looking like it just came off the Watson production line in Barnet - even though that was actually 122 years ago - it still looks fresh today.

This is therefore a rare opportunity to acquire an Edinburgh H in such good condition - it will surely form one of the centrepieces of a collection of vintage and antique Watson instruments. Here is also a period-correct storage case with this example, which is also in excellent condition for its age with nice leather handle and is just missing a key. Ured courier upon receipt of cleared funds. Thanks for looking - please also check out my other listings if you get a chance.

Watson & Sons Ltd Brass Edinburgh Stand-H Microscope c1898, Cased" is in sale since Wednesday, November 25, 2020. This item is in the category "Antiques\Science/Medicine\Scientific Instruments". The seller is "arcboutant" and is located in Glasgow. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Australia, United States, Bahrain, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Bolivia, Barbados, Brunei darussalam, Cayman islands, Ecuador, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Macao, Monaco, Maldives, Martinique, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Paraguay, Reunion, Saudi arabia, South africa, United arab emirates, Ukraine, Chile, Bahamas, Colombia, Costa rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kuwait, Panama, Qatar, Trinidad and tobago, Uruguay, Viet nam.

Period: 1800 to 1900
Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
Sub-Type: Microscopes
Material: Brass
Type: Microscope
Antique: Yes
Modified Item: No